Keeping the Cards
by incompetent.twitch
Summary: [LilyJames] Lily throws out all of the cards that she's ever recieved...except for one.


**Story Title: **Keeping the Cards

**Chapter Number: **1 (One-Shot)

**Date Written: **11/23/05

**Date Uploaded: **11/23/05

**Author:** incompetent.twitch

**Disclaimer:** Anything that seems familiar-to the Harry Potter books of course-isn't mine. If you don't recognize it, chances are it is mine.

* * *

I yawn. I really want to go to bed, but I have to finish cleaning up. It's my seventeenth birthday today-or, rather, yesterday, seeing as it is currently 12:06 on June 13. The day I leave Hogwarts. Not for good, of course. Next year's my last. The big 7. After that I am thrown out into the real world.

I smile as I remember what Sirius was trying to convince me of a few days ago. He insisted that the test was that you were thrown out-literally-and that if you didn't land on your arse, you'd live a successful life. I shook my head and chuckled a bit. Sirius was such an idiot sometimes.

Well, back to the correct time period. Sirius, Remus, and my best friend Arabella ("It's Ara! Ara, you nincompoop!") had thrown me a Sweet Sixteen Party inside the Gryffindor Common Room. Ara had known that it had been one of my dreams as a younger muggle child-don't ask me why, I won't be able to tell you now. So we threw the party, and everyone 5th year and up-excluding yours truly, of course-got pissed out of their minds.

Of course I told them I was sympathetic with them! I know how it feels to be drunk (insert undignified snort here)! Of _course_ I'll let you go sleep while I clean up the party _you_ threw me!

Truth be told, I'm not that upset to be cleaning up by myself.

I'm not the one who will be begging my best friend to hand me a hangover potion when she clearly will not be moved.

I grin as I pick up a birthday card from that a 2nd year gave me. He'd spelled 'Brthday' wrong. I'm quite sure I didn't have those kinds of spelling troubles when I was 12, but I guess being around wizards all your life you might get used to writing other kinds of not quite so common words.

I move towards the trash bag sitting in the center of the room when I hear a voice coming from the direction of the boy's staircase. I swivel around without throwing the card away.

"Why do you throw the cards away?" asked one James Potter. I blinked at him. You see, I'm still a bit shocked when he talks to me. We had a huge blowout at the beginning of the year. Something to do with…I don't remember. Well, actually I do. I'm incredibly ashamed to talk about it, however, so basically he was being a prat-like always-and I was being stuck up-as always. Now he doesn't ask me out anymore, and I was happy about this, for a time.

Isn't it ironic that you only want something as you lose it?

James and I are-well, I guess you can consider us half friends, whatever that means. Sirius made it up. I never understand Sirius. We're actually a lot alike, James and I. I'd never realized it until I spent a bit of time with him in this past year. In fact, from what I know about him, I can only distinguish one major difference between the two of us.

While it took him close to three years to obtain a crush on me, it only took me a few months to fall head-over-heels in love with him.

I shook myself out of my reminiscing long enough to give him a quizzical look. "Don't you throw them away?"

"No." James says, leaning back against the stairs. "I've kept every single one since I was seven."

I tilt my head to one side. "Why?"

"I like to remember."

"Do you only keep the cards from your birthdays?"

He chuckles, making my heart bounce like a freaking rabbit. I'd pull a face but I know that he'll think that I'm directing it towards him.

I _really_ don't want that to happen-definitely not now.

"I've kept all of them." He tells me. "Sirius makes fun of me. I've got an extra trunk shoved under my bed to stow all of the cards in."

I smile at him. "Well you can keep mine if you want." I say teasingly. I'm a bit surprised to see him looking so serious.

"May I?" He asks, standing up and walking over to the table where most of the cards are standing. Dumbly, I nod. He gathers them up in his large, capable hands and picks them up. Turning to me, he smiles melodramatically at me. "I'll keep your memories for you, Lil."

Without another word, he brushes past me and leave me to stare at the place he was just standing, with my eyes wide and my mouth appearing to belong to a goldfish.

* * *

"He called you _Lil_?" Ara asks incredously.

I sigh. Maybe I should've given her the hangover potion-then we would've been past this point by now. "_Yes_, he called me _Lil_, Ara, but that's not the point!"

"Then what is _The Point_."

"…I don't know." I sighed, my anger and enthusiasm dispersing.

"He called you Lil…" Ara mused quietly, staring out the window as the train pulled to a stop. I sighed heavily when she nudged my shoulder with hers. I turn my sorrowful eyes on her.

"Aw, cheer up pumpkin!" she announces chirpily. A smile hints at my lips. "You can find some nice muggle eye candy," here she winks and nudges me again, "And forget all about Mr. Potter."

"What about Mr. Potter?"

Speak of the devil, and he shall come.

I swallow hard as I turn to him. _A whole summer without him_! I sound so pathetic that I almost start crying. _Almost_.

I put on my innocent face. "Just don't want all of those memories floating around when my brain is supposed to be empty for the summer." I tease.

His eyes flash, first with hurt, then with anger. "Fine, _Evans_," He snaps at me, his eyes seemingly alight.

_NO!_ My mind is wailing. _I was TEASING you, you bonehead! Can't you see that? Can't you see that I'm in love with you?_

"I'll see you next year, Evans, Figg. Have a _great_ summer." He says sarcastically. Then, with a final sneer he walks off into the crowd to join his friends.

Hot tears of mortification burn at my eyes and drip down my face. My lips are quivering.

"Oh, that-" Ara begins, shaking with anger. Of course, my teasing was wasted on her.

"Don't do anything, Ara." I choke out. She turns to me, her wide brown eyes pitying and forgiving at the same time. "Please. You know that it will only make it worse, whatever you do."

She raises her eyebrow at me, and I clap my hands over my mouth. "Oh, Ara, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it like that-"

"It's okay, Lily." She laughs. "Just don't say that to fishbrain over there." She jerks her head in the direction that James had disappeared in. I manage to give her a watery grin.

"Have a good summer, okay? I meant what I said when I told you to forget about him." I nod my head in response. "I'm serious, Lee." She's using the nickname now. "You need a break. You _deserve_ a break."

I pause, then nod my head again, this time with more vigor. She was right, of course. I deserve it. We share our final goodbye hugs, and I leave to buy my ticket so I can catch the next train home to Italy.

* * *

The summer passed by quickly. I breathe deeply as I stand in the middle of the morning rush, waiting for Ara to arrive so that we can enter the platform together like we've done for the past six years. My face tightens a bit as I realize that this will be the last time that I do this.

Someone makes themselves known by tapping my shoulder to the tune of a Beatle's song. I grin and turn as I recognize the tap. Ara's eyes twinkle mischievously as she wraps her arms around me in a hug. I return it, and then we face the entrance to the platform with our arms around each other's shoulders. In our other hands we have our trunks. Walking oddly, we pretend to be slightly drunk as we stumble and trip our way through the wall and onto the platform.

An even wider grin spreads itself across my face as I glance around at all the younger students. A few second years wave in recognition at me. I wave back, happy that they know me.

"So," Ara begins, poking me in the side. I squeal and twist away from her. She laughs and starts again. "I hear you're Head Girl, Lee."

Beaming, I reach into the left pocket of my jeans and pull out my Head Girl badge. Ara squeals and throws herself at me.

We have a little squealing fit for a few minutes before we heard the train give a warning whistle. Ara stepped back and pretended to wipe her eyes and sniffle. Oh, oh-wait! She's not faking! Aawwwwwwwwww…

"I suppose I'll have to replace the missing Marauder then." She sighed, the mischievious twinkle back in her eye. I smiled and nodded-and then I backtracked.

"Missing?" I asked, eyes open wide. "Is Remmy Head Boy?" Ohmigosh, being a Head student with Remus would be so much fun! We could rule over the prefects, we could-

"Well…not quite." Ara interrupted my thoughts.

I raised an eyebrow. "Sirius?" How could he have gotten the job? Oh well, Sirius is just as much fun-

"Nope. Two more guesses and Peter doesn't count." She said as we boarded the train. I stopped, dread making my face go white and my hands clammy.

"I can't work with James." I whisper. "I _can't_, especially not after what happened at the end of last year! We'll-"

"Here." Ara shoved something into my hands. I looked down to see an envelope. "Just read it before you go in there, okay?"

I stare at her, hoping that she won't leave me behind. Aaaaaaaand…of course she did. She tosses one more grin over her shoulder at me and then I'm alone. Butterflies and hurricanes ravage across my insides as I tear open the envelope. I know it's from him. It _has_ to be from him…

As I read the card a slow yet satisfied grin works it's merry way onto my face. I close the card to glance at the cover. A picture of a white rose and a rose intertwined is focused in the center. Underneath…

_I'm sorry. I Love You._

I am so definitely keeping this card.

* * *

**Hello! This is just a one-shot. It will not be updated. It has no connection to My Life From A Bird's Eye View nor The Woes of Keeping a Diary. I hope you enjoyed this!**

**-twitch**


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